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By R. B. Gilmore, Lewis W. MacNauhgton

The North Texas district, as' herein defined, includes the counties of Archer, Baylor, Clay, Cooke, Foard, Hardeman, Knox, Montague, Wichita, and Wilbarger. This area covers generally the crest and south flank of a system of buried mountains known as the Red River uplift. The oil and gas accumulations along this feature are in traps, which, although localized by structures incident to the regional uplift, usually are modified by stratigraphic changes in the sediments. Excepting those in southeastern Baylor, southern Archer, and southwestern Clay counties, all the fields within the district are on this Red River uplift. These exceptions, which have the same type of oil and gas accumulation as the other fields, are on the extreme north end of the Bend arch, which is a broad anticline plunging northward from the Llano uplift in central Texas to Archer County. The larger part of past oil and gas production has come from Pennsyl-vanian strata, with less important amounts from the Permian, and minor but increasingly important quantities from the Ordovician. Developments during 1942 Approximately 500 wells were drilled in the district during 1942, in contrast with some 1600 wells drilled during 1941, and only some goo oil wells were completed, a decrease from 1941 of more than 10 per cent in the number of successful drilling operations of the total wells drilled. Production increased slightly over the previous year in spite of a decrease in the number of producing wells. The average depth of discovery wells was some 600 ft. deeper than in 1941. Although more discoveries produced from horizons above the base of the Strawn series than those below the Strawn, the deeper horizons, including the Bend series of the Pennsylvanian, the Mississippian limestone, and the Simpson and Ellenburger of the Ordovician, furnished most of the addition to oil reserves. The largest single addition to the reserves was again in the Ellenburger formation in the K. M. A. field. During the year 47 wells were completed, bringing the total developed acreage in this horizon to some 5450 acres. The most active area was Montague County, in which eight fields, or potential fields, were discovered although only 39 oil wells were completed. K. M. A: Pressure Maintenance Satisfactory progress was made by the K. M. A. Pressure Maintenance Association in 1942, At the end of the year, 100 wells were being used for input and total monthly volume of gas returned to the reservoir reached a high of 430,971 M cu. ft. in December, with an input ratio of 587 cu. ft. of gas returned for each barrel of oil produced during the month. This represents a utilization of 50 per cent of the gas available for return during that month. Comparison of the present average bottom-hole pressure by means of a decline

Jan 1, 1943

By F. Kurata, P. C. Davis, T. L. Gore

An experimental method and apparatus for the study of the low-temperature phase and volumetric behavior of volatile mixtures are described. The phase diagrams, including the critical points, and the volumetric behavior of a natural gas and a mixture of the natural gas with methane at temperatures from -40°F to -200°F and pressures to 1.200 11si are givrn. INTRODUCTION Knowledge of the phase and volumetric behavior of mixtures of the light hydrocarbons at low temperatures is becoming increasingly important as interest in low-temperature separation processes increases. Distillation at low-lemperatures has been used for some time to recover ethane and ethylene from natural gas and refinery gas for petrochemical uses. Removal of excess nitrogen from natural gas by distillation has been proposed as a means of increasing the capacity of gas transmission lines and of improving the marketability of the gas.1,2 Evaluation of the latter process has been hampered, however, by the scarcity of data from which the phase behavior of natural gases at low temperatures might be predicted. While existing correlations of vaporization equilibrium constants may be used to predict the behavior of such mixtures at lower pressures, high-pressure computations often require knowledge of the location of the critical point of the system involved. Although correlations have been developed for the prediction of the critical temperature and pressure of certain types of hydrocar-bon systems, they do not apply to very volatile systems such as nitrogen-bear-ing natural gases. This paper describes the initial stages of an investigation of the low-temperature behavior of a numher of natural gases and other gases of commercial interest. The experimental method and apparatus are described. and the phase and volumetric behavior of a natural gas and a mixture of the natural gas with methane are presented. PREVIOUS WORK The published low-temperature vapor-liquid equilibrium data for hydrocarbons and mixtures of hydrocarbons with nitrogen and helium are listed in Table I. Most of these data are for binary systems, and the data of Stutz-man and Brown" at 100 psi are the only data on a natural gas. The data of Bloomer and Parent3 on the methafie-nitrogen system, which have been phblished since this study was completed, are a valuable addition to the knowledge in this field. Prior to the publication of these data the only published critical point data on systems having critical temperatures below the ice point were those of Ruhemann.1 on the methane-

Jan 1, 1952

By T. L. Joseph

Charcoal was the predominant blast-furnace fuel until 1838, when it was found, by the operation of a 2-ton experimental furnace, that anthracite could also be used. This information was a stimulus to the iron industry, particularly in eastern Pennsylvania where anthracite was available at low cost. The production of anthracite pig iron increased steadily and, in 1855, its tonnage exceeded that of charcoal iron. Of the 680 furnaces in operation in 1874, the 226 using anthracite produced nearly one-half the total tonnage. In 1869, the production of coke furnaces exceeded that of charcoal furnaces and, in 1875, coke surpassed anthracite as a metallurgical fuel. In 1907, the output of anthracite pig dropped well below a million tons and its present significance is largely historical. In recent years, the production of coke has gone hand in hand with the production of pig iron and it has gradually attained the position it now occupies as a universal blast-furnace fuel. Charcoal, however, has great merit as a blast-furnace fuel chief1y because of its freedom from ash and sulfur. The harmful effect of the latter and the necessity of keeping the percentage of this element in pig iron at a minimum are well recognized. Other contaminating elements can be reduced to specified limits in the steel-making process, but the control of sulfur belongs essentially to the blast furnace. The purpose of this paper is to point out the distribution of this impurity in blast-furnace materials and to indicate how its presence alters the composition, quantity, and free-running or critical temperature of the slag, and the relation between these factors, fuel economy, and the cost of iron. Sulfur Distribution in MateRials Table 1 shows the distribution of sulfur in charcoal practice. Similar figures taken from coke practice are given in Table 2. These data were

Jan 1, 1925

The first discovery of gold in Montana is credited to François Finlay, a half-breed, from the Red River country, in Canada; he went to California during the early days and learned there how to wash the gold from placer deposits; then, on his return, he crossed Montana and found gold on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, on Gold creek, a minor tributary of the Hell Gate river, in what is now Deer Lodge county. That was in 1852.* Finlay did not find enough gold to induce him to continue at work, but six years later a group of miners, led by the brothers James Stuart and Granville Stuart prospected on this same creek, obtaining about ten cents to the pan. They, however, were harassed by the Blackfeet Indians, and they were also handicapped by lack of proper tools; so they too desisted from further operations. Two years later, in 1860, Henry Thomas started to work on Gold creek with three sluice-boxes hewn out of green timber that he cut on the spot. With this simple apparatus he won from $1.50 to $2.00 per day. This may be considered the fist instance of systematic mining in Montana. Meanwhile the Stuarts went to Fort Bridger, in southwestern Wyoming, where they remained as traders until 1861, when, again lured by the gleam of gold, they returned to the valley of the Deer Lodge and resumed prospecting, using 10 sluice-boxes that were brought from Walla Walla, in Washington, 425 miles distant. In the summer of 1862 they were joined by many others, chiefly from Colorado, in consequence of an exchange of

Jan 1, 1932

By M. S. Abrahams

Germanium has been rolled in the temperature range of 700o to 800°C. The thickness has been decreased by as much as a factor of four, from a thickness of 0.032 in. to a thickness of 0.008 in. For deformations below 60 pet, the true strain per pass is found to be a constant; from the temperature dependence of this slope, an activation energy of about 2.5 ev is obtained. This energy agrees with that for dislocation climb in germanium . For reductions greater than 60 pet, complete rings are seen in the Lave photographs, new grains are observed in the microstructure, considerable softening occurs, and the hole mobility is very low. This evidence indicates that the recrystallization of gertnanium has occurred. GERMANIUM has been deformed in many ways1 including tension, compression, torsion, and bending since Gallagher2 first described its plastic nature at elevated temperatures. All of these studies indicate that the glide plane in germanium is (111) and that the glide direction is (110). Rolled germanium specimens were used by Kolm, Warekois, and Kulin3 in their X-ray study of deformed semiconductors, but no information is given on the rolling itself. The present experiments deal with the rolling of germanium at various temperatures and for different orientations. In all previous deformation studies, the phenomenon of recrystallization (i.e., the transformation of a single crystal into a polycrystal) in germanium has not been observed4 despite relatively large deformations at elevated temperatures. The proposed reason4 for this was that sufficient energy could not be stored in the deformed germanium lattice. In contrast to the earlier studies this work will present evidence indicating that recrystallization occurs in germanium during rolling at an elevated temperature. I) EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE A) Test Specimens. The samples used for rolling were in the form of rectangular parallelepipeds measuring 0.3 in. long, 0.06 in. wide, and 0.035 in. high. They were cut from an undoped single-crystal ingot of p-type germanium with a resistivity of 24.4 ohm-cm, a Hall mobility of 2300 sq cm v-' sec-l, and a hole concentration of 1.1 x 1014 cm"3 at room temperature. The surfaces of the specimens were metallographically polished prior to rolling. The initial dislocation density of the samples was about 10' cm-' as determined by etching in CP4. Two different specimen orientations were used. In the first case, the direction of rolling was parallel to (251), the surfaces in contact with the rolls were of the form (1021, and the normal to the third face was parallel to (211). The corresponding di-

Jan 1, 1964

By Blamey Stevens

The following paper aims to make a full explanation of the phenomena of rock jointing. It may be unnecessary to give any general description of what are termed joints in rocks, but Professor Geikie's clear and faithful generalizations are so illuminating that no excuse need be given for introducing the following and other quotations into this paper : " Almost all rocks are traversed by vertical or highly inclined divisional planes termed joints. These have been regarded as due in some way to contraction during consolidation (fissures of retreat) ; and this is no doubt their origin in innumerable cases. But, on the other hand, their frequent regularity and persistence across materials of very varying texture suggest rather the effects of internal pressure and movement within the crust." 1 General Explanation.—In this paper I show that the phenomenon of jointing may to a large extent be accounted for by the pressure of the water contained in the pores of the rock. To understand this, each constituent grain of the porous material may be considered to be separately compressed by the water which submerges it. As all the grains are held together by cohesion, the whole mass is contracted by this pressure. In an indefinitely extended mass, however, there must be a limit to the possible contraction without rupture, because the material is restrained from moving freely by other material around its boundariee. The mass of rock thus becomes broken up. This phenomenon is known as " shrinkage" jointing. The term " shrinkage " is an apt one, if it be understood that the shrinkage of the rock is often brought about by change of stress. Stresses.—The compressive component of water stress on the individual grains is evidently the same as that of the water with which it is in contact. This is so, both before and after the jointing is formed. Before the jointing is formed there is, however, a tensile stress in one or more directions which keeps the material from contracting. At the moment of the formation of joints this stress is equal to the cohesive compressive stress. This is more commonly known to engineers as the tensile breaking stress.

Jan 1, 1914

HAVING previously told you about lodestone, azure, emery, and manganese, things that perhaps belong more properly to the stones than to the metals, the desire has come to me to describe rock crystal as well and, with this, some of the better-known gems, although they are things that are not classified with metals, as far as I know, or even with the serniminerals. In truth, they are neither one nor the other, but they are stones and have the nature of stones. But let them be what they may, in order to avoid straying from the subject we have begun, we shall say that they have mineral properties in their species, as for instance, in respect to their colors. It would seem an error to me if, while I am giving you information on so many other useful things, I did not give you this as well, if for no other reason than because it is a fine accomplishment for a gentleman to have some knowledge concerning gems. Thus since I have proposed to do this, beginning to speak of crystal, I tell you that it is a lustrous, transparent, and limpid stone, composed by Nature with a predominance of wateriness. Thus, contrary to the order of natural things, it has been believed by many that Nature has generated it of pure water by means of a powerful and continuous coldness that always exists in those mountains and places where it is found, for the waters and snows can never melt there because of the great cold. They have tried to prove this opinion of theirs by saying that crystal still retains the nature of frozen water, and that this is. shown not only in its appearance but also in the fact that, like ice, it floats without sinking to the bottom when it is put in water. They also say that it is customary to put it under the tongues of the thirsty on account of the, coldness and moistness which it gives, and that it quenches the dryness of their thirst. But even if all these things were true, as they are not, they do not upon consideration bring us to the conclusion that it is water, because the diamond and the beryl would do the same. Therefore it does not seem to me credible [391 that it is as they claim, for it is a stone generated as such by Nature. And then, if this were true in those places where it rains often and many snows are formed, and these should freeze and never melt but

Jan 1, 1942

The first mention of the occurrence of native copper near Lake Superior is found in a book by Lagarde, published in 1636. The letters of the Jesuit missionaries in the seventeenth century refer to the use of this copper by the Indians. Francesco Bressani, an Italian friar, says, in 1653: "There is a copper ore, which is very pure, and which has no need of passing through the fire; but it is in places far distant and hard to reach. We have seen it in the hands of the barbarians".* Father Jerome Lalemant, writing in 1659, says that the coast of Lake Superior is "enriched with copper of such excellence that pieces as large as one's fist are found, all refined.† These pieces of copper were hoarded by the Indians as mascots. The mention of the metal as having been already refined by nature recalls the fact that the old Greek historians spoke of gold-dust as being apuron, or not needing the fire. Father Claude Allouez,‡ writing in 1666, says: "One often finds at the bottom of the water [of Lake Superior] pieces of pure copper, of ten and twenty livres [pounds] weight. I have several times seen such pieces in the savages' hands; and since they are superstitious [as if the padres themselves were not!], they- keep them as so many divinities, or as presents which the gods dwelling beneath the water have given them, and on which their welfare is to depend. For this reason they preserve these pieces of copper, wrapped up, among their most precious possessions".

Jan 1, 1932

By N. Lilienberg

Refractory materials play much the same part in the producion of metals as houses and shelter for men, and it therefore seems useful to discuss sometimes the ways of manufacturing them. In fact, it appears to me that too little has been said on this important matter, probably because the manufacturers of fire-brick do not care to publish details for the benefit of competitors, but perhaps, also, by reason of the indulgent indifference of consumers. Judging from the revolutions in the manafacture of iron and steel caused by using calcareous materials for the furnace-bottoms, it does not seem improbable that in the future basic bricks may be produced suffciently strong for building also side-walls and arches, and perhaps, also, for use in blast-furnaces. But the existence of the present difficulties of great shrinkage in burning and small strength against compression, which limit the possibility of using basic bricks to Bessemer converters and such open-hearth furnaces as permit the bottom to be separated from the superstructure, seems to indicate still a long and extensive use of silica fire-bricks. I am not prepared to say anything about American fire-brick making, but knowing that industries abroad are watched with increasing interest by American manufacturers, I have imagined that this association would like to hear some facts about the way firebricks arc made in my country—Sweden. Well-known as it is that Sweden produces a high quality of iron, it is perhaps not so universally known that the same country produces a very high grade of silica fire-brick, whereby most of its own wants are supplied. In giving the following sketch I can, of course, not claim that all the facts are entirely new, but shall consider my object attained if American manufacturers can derive some benefit from the comparison of the following methods with their own, and if some discussion on this important subject can be aroused which will contribute to further progress. In order to show the extensive use of domestic fire-bricks in Sweden, where English bricks are easily obtainable, I mention the fact that about twelve millions of all kinds of fire-bricks (reduced to

Jan 1, 1885

By Norman B. Pilling

Practical limitations to the usefulness of silicon steels are the hardness and brittleness silicon imparts to iron, making iron-silicon alloys of more than 8 per cent. silicon content unusable except where castings can be employed. In the use of commercial silicon steel, in thin rolled sheets, as in transformer construction, when the silicon content exceeds 4.2 per cent. the sheet is too brittle for satisfactory shaping by punching or similar operations. When such a brittle steel is sheared, it frequently breaks along a haphazard path in advance of the cutting tool. In Fig. 1 is shown a slightly enlarged view of the sheared edge of a 14-mil enameled sheet of nominally 4 per cent. silicon steel. In 5 in. along the sheared edge, only 44 per cent. was actually cut; the rest was torn, with the path of fracture varying widely from the path of travel between the shears. This is probably an extreme case of such brittle-ness, but a shearing or punching test is not necessary to reveal brittle-ness of this order; narrow strips will break when bent between the fingers. In Fig. 2, the proportion of actual cut edge is greater, but secondary fractures branch off at about 30" from the line of shearing in advance of the cut. Deprived of the support of adjacent parts of the sheet, the tips of the angles are bent out of the plane of the sheet by the shears, leaving a peculiar flared effect, like the set of the teeth on a saw. An end-on

Jan 1, 1923

By H. G. Doll

A new electrical logging method is described which measures the resistivity of small volumes of material near and behind the wall of the bore holes. The very small electrode systems used are supported in the face of the flexible insulator pad of appropriate dimension maintained in contact with the wall. The measurements are recorded simultaneously with two different electrode spacings. This method provides a very detailed record of the formations and particularly of the permeable beds traversed by the bore holes. The application of MicroLog to the location of permeable zones within compact formaltions, such as limestone, and to the determination of the amount of sand existing in sequences of thin shale and sand streaks is discussed. The possibility of quantitative determination, providing a step toward the evaluation of formation porosity and mud cake thickness, is also examined. Field examples illustrate the essential features of the method. INTRODUCTION In conventional electrical logging, the spontaneous potential (SP) log is used to delineate the permeable beds, and the resistivity logs are used primarily to provide indications concerning the fluid content of the beds. When the formations are much more resistive than the mud, as happens, for example, in limestone fields, the SP currents are short-circuited by the more conductive mud column, with the result that the SP log is quite rounded. In that case, the SP log generally gives the approximate location of the permeable formations but it cannot be used for an accurate determination of the boundaries of each permeable bed.' Solutions for the problem of obtaining a better determination of the permeable beds in limestone fields were developed from two angles. One approach consisted in improvements to the logging of the SP, as given by Selective SP logging and Static SP logging. These new methods, which have been described in an earlier paper,' give good results when the mud is not too salty, but they are still in a somewhat experimental stage, mostly because the development efforts have lately been concentrated on another approach to the problem, i.e., the MicroLog.

Jan 1, 1950

By Thomas L. Garwood, F. C. Menk

IT is generally accepted that no method of coal cleaning except froth flotation is effective in cleaning dust. In the majority of coals mined in the United States the dust sues contain a high percentage of impurities, hence the removal of the dust from the coarse sizes lowers the impurity content of these sizes. Dedusted coal is desired as a means of providing a better feed to cleaning plants because of increased efficiency in I both dry and wet plants. In dry-cleaning plants, a dedusted feed makes for a pervious and uniform bed. With a dusty feed the fines tend to segregate in the feed stream and pass en masse over the air separators, causing a lack of uniform aeration and fluidity of the bed necessary to efficient cleaning. In wet-cleaning plants dedusting of the feed often decreases the sludge problem to the point of eliminating the necessity of wasting wash water. It may be advantageous to eliminate sludge-settling equipment in favor of dedusting equipment, to provide the advantages of a dedusted feed to the wet-washing process. Dedusting advantages may include: (1) the removal of fusain, especially advantageous in plants washing coal intended for metallurgical coke; (2) prevention of the gradual build-up of solids in the wash water, with a consequent variation in the washing ability of the system; (3) prevention of the loss of dust to the sludge ponds, providing instead a fuel for local consumption or special markets. DEDUSTING The practice of dedusting, sometimes called aspirating, has presented a problem in disposing of the dust and intermediate small sizes recovered in the process. It has been found that no difficulty is experienced in disposing of the intermediate sizes, since they are free of fine dust and burn freely on grates built for small coal. They handle well, flowing freely from bins and hoppers and into conveyors, and pulverize easily. They have a low angle of repose. In tests made on this size as a feed to coke ovens, the results have been excellent, in that the natural breakdown of coal in handling and shooting in the mine gives this small-size coal good coking characteristics-producing a strong, fingery coke structure. Deduster dust from Illinois coal has been

Jan 1, 1950

By Carle R. Hayward

GENERAL conditions in the lead industry have registered a distinct improvement. The first signs of a strengthening market were found in an increasing demand for scrap. There is keen competition for old battery plates both by large and small dealers. The large operator smelts them either alone or in combination with ores or other lead-bearing material, giving an antimonial lead for which there is brisk demand. The small operator usually has three alternatives. He may simply melt out the metallics in a kettle at low temperature, giving an antimonial lead and a pulverulent lead oxide; he may fuse under oxidizing conditions, giving a soft lead and lead-antimony slag; or he may fuse under reducing conditions, giving a relatively low-grade antimonial lead and a low-antimony slag. In each case the metal product is used or sold, and the dross or slag sold to a large smelter. It will be interesting to see what the final outcome will be of this situation which is generally conceded to be unsatisfactory.

Jan 1, 1937

By C. F. Seaman, R. G. Clay

The mines of The Tennessee Copper Co. are in the Ducktown Basin, in southeastern Tennessee. The ore is a heavy sulphide consisting principally of chalcopyrite, pyrite and pyrrhotite and in places running as high as 95 per cent sulphur and iron. Operating mines are the Burra Burra and Eureka. Development ' of the Boyd ore body was started in 1940. Late in 1939 the decision was made to change from fuse and cap to all electric blasting and at the same time electric cap lamps were installed to replace carbide. These changes were made to improve the safety and working conditions in the mines. Both the Bureau of Mines and explosives manufacturers recommended electric blasting as a safety measure. Until that rime, electric blasting had been used only for shaft sinking and in places where it was absolutely essential for safety. Very few men had had experience in this type of blasting, as the places where it was required were those that also required direct supervision. It was necessary for the mining staff to work out methods, procedure, and equipment to be used. In this they were ably assisted by representatives of the explosives manufacturers. Many mistakes were made and it is the purpose of this paper to describe the original plan and installation, show the major difficulties encountered. the remedies applied, and present the practices now being followed. Comparison of costs of the two methods will also be discussed. About six months were required to make the change and eliminate fuse and cap blasting entirely. The first electric blasting stations were installed in November 1939 and the last fuse was taken underground in May 1940. A very unusual condition forced the use of fuse for a short time in one heading after May, but that will be discussed later. Original Equipment and Installation A power line is generally recommended as a source of current where permanent blasting stations are used. The plan worked out for electric blasting was to tap 220-volt alternating-current lines when they were available and use 250-volt direct current from the trolley wire at all other places. A blasting machine would be available at each shaft for places where there were no regular blasting stations and could be used if a regular station should fail. The equipment decided on was No. 16 duplex reinforced lamp cord for lines to within about 50 ft. of the working place and No. 20 lead wire from that point to the shots. An open double-pole, double-throw switch with slate base was put in the circuit, so connected that the down position would close the line to the shots 2nd the up position would connect it to the Iine from the power contactor. This switch was located in the circuit as close to the blast as was safe (should the shots explode when it was placed in the shooting

Jan 1, 1943

Apparatus and a method for determining the volumetric behavior of hydrocarbons at pressures up to 10,000 psia and at temperatures between 0° and 460°F are described. The equipment is suitable for measuring the total volume of the system and the volume of a liquid phase as functions of state within these ranges of temperature and pressure. Introduction During the past two decades there has been a marked increase in the ranges of temperature and pressure encountered in underground hydrocarbon reservoirs of commercial interest. In addition, greater interest in the intensive characteristics of the fluids found in these reservoirs has developed. Apparatus Several types of apparatus have been developed in the authors' laboratory for volumetric measurements of hydrocarbon systems. The earliest equipment described1 was characterized by constant volume, and the weight of material present was varied systematically in order to attain the different pressures desired in the study. Later another apparatus2 was built in which the effective volume of the cylindrical cell, which confined a hydrocarbon sample of constant weight was varied by injection or withdrawal of mercury. The effective total volume of the equilibrium cell was measured by ascertaining the position of the mercury surface but no measurement could be made which gave knowledge of the volumes of individual phases existing within the hydrocarbon system. A third apparatus3 was designed for use at higher pressures and temperatures than the earlier equipment would tolerate. This apparatus was of the variable volume type but was built in the general form of a U-tube, the mercury level being measured at the surface which was not exposed to the hydrocarbon system. This arrangement avoided the need of subjecting measuring equipment to the extremes of temperature at which studies were made, but it gave no provision for measurement of the volumes of individual phases. Although this last apparatus was satisfactory as to accuracy and convenience for many purposes, need was felt for measurements of the volume of the liquid phase of the hydrocarbon system. For this reason a fourth equilibrium apparatus was designed and constructed, and it is the purpose of the present paper to describe it. The equilibrium cell has a working range of temperature from 0° to 460°F at pressures up to 10,000 psi. Provision for measurement of both total volume and liquid-phase volume makes it particularly suitable for the equilibrium study of heterogeneous systems consisting either of simple mixtures or of complex field samples of hydrocarbons. The general arrangement of the ap-

Jan 1, 1948

By G. W. Josephson

Since the earliest years of recorded history the durability and protective qualities of asphalt and tar have been known and utilized. The mummies of early Egyptian kings were coated with asphaltic materials, and asphalt mastics were common in Babylon. However, according to various authorities, it was not until 1780 that the first forerunner of present-day composition roofing was discovered,l and the large-scale expansion of the industry has taken place since 1900. Historical Background Development was stimulated by the growing popularity of manufactured gas. The by-product tars from these operations accumulated in large waste piles that had no commercial value and were a source of annoyance and expense to the gas companies. These tars were offered at very attractive terms to anyone who would take them away, and the infant "composition" roofing industry benefited accordingly. At first the process consisted simply of dipping sheets of burlap or other fabric in a tank of molten tar or asphalt. The long strip of roofing was rolled up for convenient handling, and the early experimenters soon found that it was necessary to dust the surface of their new "roll roofing" with some kind of material that would prevent the tarred surfaces from sticking together. Any finely divided, low- priced local material like sand or fine gravel served this purpose and from its application the roofing-granule industry grew. As time went on other characteristics of a properly applied mineral surfacing were recognized. As with wooden shingles, tar and asphalt can be ignited by flying embers from near-by fires. It was found that by increasing the largest particle size to the maximum that could be successfully embedded, and by properly controlling the amount of smaller fractions retained in the grade so as to cover the asphalt completely a high degree of resistance to fire was attained. Needless to say, in this early period asphaltic roofing needed such selling points to gain acceptance in a field dominated by wood, slate, and tile. When asphalt is protected from the sun's rays it is extremely durable, but when exposed to sunlight its surface is comparatively rapidly decomposed. Completely covering asphalt roofing with mineral surfacing protects the asphalt and adds materially to the life of the roof—conservatively, 500 per cent. Slate Graftules In the production of split slate shingles a large quantity of waste slate is accumulated, as 60 to go per cent of the rock quarried is discarded. This waste was a continuing burden on the industry. Some was marketed as ground slate flour for filler in paint and linoleum, and there is a record that as early as 1906 two carloads of coarse screenings from slate flour were marketed as granules for surfacing roofing. This new field appeared to the slate Pro-

Jan 1, 1948

By W. Julian Parton

Treatment of the breaker wash-water discharges to remove the suspended particles of finely divided material is usually most efficiently and economically accomplished in settling or thickening tanks. The purpose of these tanks is to separate the excess water from the solids by sedimentation whereby the solid particles suspended in the water are thickened by the force of gravity. The water overflowing these tanks is either reused for coal cleaning or discharged directly to the streams. The settled solids, which are in a relatively concentrated condition, forming a sludge or thick pulp, can be disposed of by pumping to a storage dam, by slushing into mine workings, by processing for recovery of coal, or filtering by vacuum or centrifugal means and discharging with the breaker refuse. The scope of this paper will be limited to the discussion of settling and thickening equipment, the factors that influence the settlement of solids, and a brief description of tests that can be made to determine the size of settling facilities required for any particular condition. The practical application of sedimentation to the treatment of coal falls into two groups, one of classification or hydro-separation, and the other of clarification and thickening. Classification may be employed to prepare a relatively low-grade fuel, which can be used as is or can be further processed separately. Clarification and thickening is employed where the primary objective is to recover a relatively dewatered solid and return a satisfactorily clear water to breaker or streams. Operation and Types oF Settling Equipment When a stream of water flows across a tank, the time required for a particle to travel from the feed inlet to the overflow must be a little greater than that required for the finest particles or flocs in the feed to settle out of the stream. Theoretically, the liquid in a settling tank should rise at a more or less constant rate throughout the area of the tank Under these conditions the rising velocity of the water must be less than the settling rate of the finest particles if clarification is to be obtained. When classification of particles is to be made in the tank, the overflow velocity must be greater than the settling velocity of the particles that are to be removed with the tank overflow. The performance of a settling tank, then, depends on the settling rate of the solids and the current velocities in the tank. The oldest types of sedimentation employ intermittent types of settling tanks of any convenient shape. Means are provided for filling the tank with pulp and allowing it to settle until quiet, for moving the clean liquor and for removing the thickened sludge. The operation is necessarily intermittent but a sufficient number of tanks is employed so that a continuous flow of clear water is maintained. Continuous methods for the sedimentation of slurries were developed in the metallurgical industry. Cones from which settled solids were discharged by gravity

Jan 1, 1947

By G. W. Josephson

Since the earliest years of recorded history the durability and protective qualities of asphalt and tar have been known and utilized. The mummies of early Egyptian kings were coated with asphaltic materials, and asphalt mastics were common in Babylon. However, according to various authorities, it was not until 1780 that the first forerunner of present-day composition roofing was discovered,l and the large-scale expansion of the industry has taken place since 1900. Historical Background Development was stimulated by the growing popularity of manufactured gas. The by-product tars from these operations accumulated in large waste piles that had no commercial value and were a source of annoyance and expense to the gas companies. These tars were offered at very attractive terms to anyone who would take them away, and the infant "composition" roofing industry benefited accordingly. At first the process consisted simply of dipping sheets of burlap or other fabric in a tank of molten tar or asphalt. The long strip of roofing was rolled up for convenient handling, and the early experimenters soon found that it was necessary to dust the surface of their new "roll roofing" with some kind of material that would prevent the tarred surfaces from sticking together. Any finely divided, low- priced local material like sand or fine gravel served this purpose and from its application the roofing-granule industry grew. As time went on other characteristics of a properly applied mineral surfacing were recognized. As with wooden shingles, tar and asphalt can be ignited by flying embers from near-by fires. It was found that by increasing the largest particle size to the maximum that could be successfully embedded, and by properly controlling the amount of smaller fractions retained in the grade so as to cover the asphalt completely a high degree of resistance to fire was attained. Needless to say, in this early period asphaltic roofing needed such selling points to gain acceptance in a field dominated by wood, slate, and tile. When asphalt is protected from the sun's rays it is extremely durable, but when exposed to sunlight its surface is comparatively rapidly decomposed. Completely covering asphalt roofing with mineral surfacing protects the asphalt and adds materially to the life of the roof—conservatively, 500 per cent. Slate Graftules In the production of split slate shingles a large quantity of waste slate is accumulated, as 60 to go per cent of the rock quarried is discarded. This waste was a continuing burden on the industry. Some was marketed as ground slate flour for filler in paint and linoleum, and there is a record that as early as 1906 two carloads of coarse screenings from slate flour were marketed as granules for surfacing roofing. This new field appeared to the slate Pro-

Jan 1, 1948

By W. E. Hess

AT the Vesta mines of Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. on the Monongahela River, 35 miles south of Pittsburgh, JCM Joy continuous miners and 6-SC shuttle cars are used for pillar extraction in the Pittsburgh seam. The entire output of the mine goes into coke production for blast furnace operation. Because this coal, which has high metallurgical qualities, is close to the place where it is ultimately used and because supplies with these properties are being rapidly depleted, complete recovery is essential wherever possible. With the introduction of the continuous miner into the Vesta mines, therefore, it was necessary to plan a project which would facilitate development and provide for future total recovery. Use of continuous miners under varying conditions has necessitated changes with regard to roof action, method of development, method of pillar attack, and innovations in mining. In the following pages these changes will be discussed. Prior to the introduction of continuous miners the Pittsburgh seam at the Vesta mines averaged 72 in. of mineable coal, overlain with 12 to 16 in. of draw-slate, which weathers on exposure to air and is not firm enough to be held in place. Immediately overlying the drawslate is a wild or rooster coal, very irregular in thickness, varying from 12 to 30 in. Above the rooster coal the strata consists predominately of shales or lime shales and sandstone. Just before the introduction of continuous miners in the Vesta mines, however, a definite change took place in the character of the roof structure overlying the coal seam, see Fig. 1. Thickness of laminated roof immediately overlying the rooster coal varies with localities and introduces a problem in roof control. In fact, a set of eight main entries being developed in Vesta NO. 4 mine entered an area with so difficult a roof structure that management considered abandoning the section altogether. In this locality the roof consisted of thin alternate layers of roof coals and shales, with an occasional irregular seam of slick slate, the whole being laced with slips, and the coal itself being cut by clay veins and spars. In an effort to overcome some of the difficulties, roof bolting was introduced in 1949. This made it possible to recover coal from an area which otherwise would have been economically unmineable. There have been very few roof bolt failures. When conventional machines were replaced by continuous miners there were changes in the development of butt entries. By these changes it was hoped: 1—to speed development, 2—to provide as much solid coal as possible for the machine on retreat, 3—to avoid the necessity of crossing entries already driven, 4—to facilitate ventilation, 5—to provide a roadway for shuttle car haulage which would eliminate the necessity of running through doors or curtains, 6—to provide better roof control by increasing the distance between the center lines of entries, and 7—to provide more coal when the machine was in position to load.

Jan 1, 1956

By W. H. Blauvelt

The technical and engineering problems in the manufacture of coke are today the problems of the byproduct oven. Except in a few special localitics, practically no beehive ovens have been built in the United States for the last 5 or 6 years except as renewals of old plants, and during these years the total number of beehive ovens in existence has been steadily falling. On the other hand, the number of byproduct ovens has increased from 4624 in 1911 to a total of about 7660 in operation at the end of 1917; with 2800 building, this makes a total of about 10,460 which will be in operation in 1918, or shortly thereafter. Preliminary Government estimates place the total production of coke for 1917 at 56,600,000 tons, the largest tonnage in the history of the industry. Of this 34,000,000 tons, or 60 per cent., was beehive, and 22,-600,000 tons, or 40 per cent., was byproduct coke. Some time in 1918 the production of byproduct coke should pass the beehive output, and when the byproduct ovens now building are completed the total byproduct capacity will be about 40,000,000 tons of coke per annum, which is over 70 per cent. of the record-breaking total coke production of 1917. The reasons for these changes in the coking industry are familiar to all of us, and need not be discussed here. Improvement in Oven Design Since the byproduct oven was brought to this country from Europe, in 1892, it has been radically improved, and from the point of view of American metallurgical practice it is safe to say that the American ovens arc superior to those of Europe. The points of superiority are mainly those of larger units and larger output per unit, and the greater extent to which labor-saving machinery has been introduced. The increased output is largely due to the use of silica refractory material, which permits higher heats and shorter coking time than are employed in Europe. The modern American oven will carbonize commercially more than 20 tons of coal per day, and contrary to the European idea that slower

Jan 1, 1920